Two Years Gone
by b.freeman
Summary: Haley leaves Tree Hill one stormy night with a broken heart. Two years later she's returning but she isn't alone. Can Nathan save the love they once shared or has too much time passed? "It was always you...I never had a choice."


**Author's Note: Hey everyone! I know most of you who have read my stories are wondering why I'm posting this new story when I still have to finish my other three that I haven't update in forever. Well, the truth is I had completely forgotten I had written the first two chapters of this story and I stumbled across it today and I just couldn't resist uploading it and seeing what you guys thought of it! **

**I know I have been MIA for the past two years or so but a lot has changed in my life and I'm SLOWLY getting back into writing and I'm finding that it's healing me, so if you'll be patient with me for just a little while longer I promise I will have updates for Free Falling and Slow Dancing In A Burning Summer for you guys within the next two months. I no longer have a job so I'm just in school right now so whenever I have free time I can write now! And in the summer I will have all the free time in the world! My other story Wherever You Will Go only has one chapter left and I've written about 6 pages for it already so that one should be updated and completed by next week! I really appreciate all my devoted readers for sticking with me and I welcome any new readers as well. I hope you guys will try and take this journey with me again! **

**So, here is this new story. I'm not sure where I was taking this story since it's been so long that I've written it so I hope you guys enjoy it enough to want more because I will love to take this journey with you! If you all like it please review! They really help motivate me! Thanks always!**

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><p><span>Two Years Gone<span>

Chapter One: The Wind That Blew My Heart Away

The plane smelled of cheap wine and baby powder. I could hardly breathe it was so toxic. I was hoping to have fallen asleep by now, a fourteen hour plane ride should leave me feeling exhausted and drained but after four hours I have yet to fall asleep. There were so many things going through my head at the moment, I almost felt dizzy because of it. It had been two years since I left Tree Hill for Paris. It was the hardest thing I had ever done and to this day it is the most reckless decision I have made. I'm not impulsive or rash. I don't rush into things. I'm responsible and always weigh out my options before making a decision. But that night I didn't care. I wanted to be as far away from him as I could possibly be. So, I packed all my things and took the red eye to Paris, leaving everything and everyone I ever loved behind.

Two years ago, almost exactly to this day, I lost everything I had ever believed in. Love is just a four letter word to me now. It holds no meaning for me at all. All I can remember about love is the pain it had caused me and I never want to go through that again. So, I've kept my distance from love. If I found it creeping up on me, I'd run away, much like I did two years ago. Except back then I wasn't running from love. I was running from the boy who I would have done anything for and if I'm honest with myself I would still do anything for. I loved him with every fiber of my being. But, as all things do, our relationship ended and it ended badly.

_The sky was full of black clouds, the thunder roared and the rain was coming down faster by the minute. The wind was heavy and if you listened closely you could hear the whistle it created. It was the worst storm Tree Hill had seen all summer and Haley was stuck right in the middle of it all. _

"_Please pick up. Please pick up." Haley whispered to herself as she was driving down the road, biting her lower lip while doing so. No answer. Leaves and branches were being thrown around outside her windows and the car moved every time the wind blew but she didn't care. She was worried about Nathan, he hadn't been picking up his phone for the past hour and he was supposed to be out at the River Court when the storm hit. If anything happened to him…that wasn't an option. She couldn't lose Nathan. Not after everything they had shared and been through. _

_Haley was almost to Nathan's house when her phone began to ring. She immediately picked it up from her lap and looked at the caller I.D. It was Nathan. _

"_Oh God, finally." She says in a deep breath, tears in her eyes, before answering the phone. "Nathan, thank God. I've been trying to reach you for over an hour. Are you ok?" Panic was evident in her voice. _

"_Haley." She hears through the phone. He sounds weak and broken._

"_Yes, baby, I'm right here. Where are you?"_

"_You're ok aren't you? Please tell me you're ok Hales because-" _

"_Nathan, listen to me. I'm fine, now you obviously aren't. So I need you tell me where you are so I can come and get you."_

"_I'm at the River Court."_

"_What?" Haley screams through the phone, completely worried. "Nathan, what are you still doing out there? You know what never mind. Please stay where you are. I'm coming to get you."_

"_Hales?"_

"_Yes, Nathan."_

"_I screwed up. And I don't know how to fix it."_

"_Nathan, what are you talking about? I'm almost there, just please," Haley paused to take a deep breath and gather her bearings. "Everything is going to be okay. I love you Nathan." She waited for a response but nothing came. "Nathan." She lingered for a moment before repeating his name again. She took the phone from her ear and saw that the call was lost. She hit the gas a little. She needed to get to Nathan and fast. She didn't know what it was but she knew something was wrong. She could hear it in his voice when he spoke and earlier in the day when they had that fight. He had been acting strangely around her all day. _

I can still taste the tears that fell from my eyes that night. The kind of taste that leaves your mouth feeling sour and your heart cheated for believing in the good it use to bring. Every time I cry I remember how my world fell apart that fateful night and how the ground underneath me seemed to crumble. But the image that remains in my mind as well as my heart is still so brilliantly vivid to me. His blue orbs always captivated me and left me feeling like I was the most precious thing in his eyes. But that night, his eyes were cold and distant, and I left him feeling abandoned and vulnerable.

When the storm finally let up, I drove home but not before stopping by Brooke's house. Brooke and I had known each other our whole lives. Growing up it was us against the world. We had each other's back on everything. See, we're sisters, well technically we're half-sisters, same dad different moms, but we always felt like that part didn't matter. We are sisters and we love each other like sisters. She was the last person I saw before leaving Tree Hill. Of course, she pleaded with me to stay, saying that running away wouldn't heal a broken heart and most days I think she was right but back then I was so lost and confused that I didn't care who I left behind. Mine and Brooke's relationship suffered the first year I was in Paris but over time we started to become us again and she has never once mentioned that night to me. She knows I still hurt from it, even if I deny it, and like the amazing person she is, she lets me because she knows what I really need from her is support.

She's actually the reason I'm finally coming home. She and Luke had gotten married a little over a year ago when they flew to Paris to visit me. They had been engaged for only a month and the planning of the wedding was going great but there was something in the Paris air the night they arrived. It was a small ceremony and I was honored to be a part of it. So when Brooke called me and told me that I was going to be an aunt I was so happy for them. I know they will make the absolute best parents. This was eight months ago. At the time I was so excited for them and so thrilled about becoming an aunt that I didn't think about the repercussions. Obviously Brooke couldn't fly to Paris to have her baby, so I would have to come home. And it wouldn't be so bad, honestly, I've missed Tree Hill over the past two years, it's where I grew up and the town held so many memories for me. Tree Hill isn't what I'm afraid of though, it's the boy I've forced myself to forget, who I know would undoubtedly be there. Missing the birth of his niece was not even a consideration for Nathan. I may have forced myself to forget him but I still knew Nathan and the one person who meant the most to him was Lucas. His brother was having a baby, a huge milestone in someone's life and there's no way Nathan would miss this experience with his brother. I think that's what still bothers me about Nathan; he can treat me the way he did and still have a heart, still be the best version of himself, and still be the best person I know.

I look over to my right and see Julian fast asleep, his mouth fully open and his head leaned to the side. I met Julian a few months ago in some dive bar my friend Peyton dragged me too. He's terribly handsome, beyond intelligent and completely in love with me. He treats me like a princess. Isn't that what every girl wants from their boyfriend? I should feel lucky that I have someone like Julian but I don't. I'm not in the least bit in love with him. I care about him so much and I know I need him in my life but I know I'll never feel for him the way I felt for Nathan and that's something else that bothers me about Nathan. He's always first on my list. Every time I meet a guy I compare him to Nathan. He still wins after all this time, after everything he did and I can't stand that.

I don't exactly know why I brought Julian along. A part of me believes that I wanted him to come, that more and more each day he's growing on me. I knew he would say yes instantly and maybe that's I why the other part of me feels guilty because the angry and shameful Haley wants to stick it to Nathan and hurt him like he hurt me.

_Haley had finally made it to the River Court. She was confused as to why Nathan was sitting on the bleachers, drenched and dangerously out in the open instead of sitting underneath the canopy where it was dry and safe. _

_Haley cut the car off, undid her seatbelt and opened the door. "Nathan, come on!" She yelled through the wind. Nathan didn't move. He just sat very still. Haley shut the car door and ran over to Nathan. _

"_Nathan?" Haley was slightly irritated by his behavior at this point but was still concerned. Nathan never acted like this. _

"_Haley, get back in the car." Nathan practically demanded._

"_No. I'm not leaving without you." _

"_Haley, I mean it." His voice was violent and stern. _

"_So do I damn it! Will you at least look at me?" Haley took a step toward Nathan and moved her hand under his chin to bring his face upward to where he could look at her. The glare he held and the look of pure disgust sketched upon his face is something Haley would never forget. She gasped in sight of it._

"_We can't be together anymore Haley." Nathan spoke with no emotion, it was almost as if he was unaffected by the position he was in. The storm was still wildly active and he was breaking the heart of the only girl who truly mattered to him. _

"_You don't mean that. We had a fight Nathan that doesn't mean we broke up because of it."_

"_I do mean it Haley."_

"_Stop, ok. Just stop it. Why are doing this? Why are you calling me Haley? You never call me anything but Hales or baby or-"_

"_You need to leave Haley. Everyone will be looking for you and are probably worried sick."_

"_I don't care about everybody else Nathan. I care about you. I love you. And I know you love me too."_

"_I don't-" Nathan hesitated. He couldn't say the words, he tried but he just couldn't say that to her. "I mean, this just isn't working anymore. We're not working anymore."_

_Haley moved to sit beside him, to be close to him but Nathan stopped her. Something was wrong, really wrong. Haley forced herself past him and grabbed a hold of his hand. "Nathan, look at me. Whatever is going on, you can tell me. You're problems are my problems. We'll get through it together, just don't do this."_

_Haley was surprised when Nathan pulled her to him, with a grip so tight she could barely breathe. He smelled her hair and breathed in her scent. They stayed that way for several minutes, him just holding her until he pulled away from her and finally stood up._

_Nathan's back was facing Haley so she couldn't see his face. "We have to break up Haley because-" _

"_Because what?" She commanded._

_Nathan knew he had to say it now. "Because, because I don't love you anymore." And he was right. It hurt like hell. _

_Haley shook her head feverously. She didn't believe him. _

"_I don't believe you." _

"_I don't love you anymore Haley." He was still turned where Haley couldn't see face. He didn't want her to see his face. She would be able to see right through him. _

"_No." Haley said before standing up and forcing Nathan to turn around. "Look at me. I said look at me." Her voice wasn't loud or angry, it was steady and unruffled. Nathan shifted his eyes towards Haley. "I want you to say it to my face Nathan."_

"_Haley-"_

"_Say it to my face you coward." She waited. Nathan was staring at her and very carefully he spoke the five words that nearly stopped Haley's heart and stopped his own, for he didn't mean any of it. _

"_I don't love you anymore."_

_There was a loud crack of thunder and just like that, Haley was gone. _


End file.
